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♪ ♪ >> follow the transition of government on c-span as president-elect donald trump his cabinet and we will take you to key events as they happen without interruption.

watch live on c-span to watch on-demand at c-span.org or listen on our free c-span radio app. >> this week, vice president-elect mike pence outlined the 100 day agenda for the trump administration, part of the event hosted by the heritage foundation. it took place at the trump international hotel in washington, d.c. [applause] >> thank you. john has a sense of humor. the last time he introduced me, i gave him a hard time because it was a rough introduction. he overdid it this time. but what a great crowd. i really apologize for those of you who had to stand in line for so long, but it is going to be worth it, i promise you. i understand they got you something to drink while you were standing and everything. so thank you all for being here. i am trying not to be too giddy

tonight. there is just something about standing in the trump hotel -- [applause] just a few blocks from the white house, introducing a great friend of mine and his wonderful wife karen, who are going to be the next vice president couple of the united states. it is very sweet. [applause] mike and i got to know each other because we spent a fair amount of time being called on the carpet together when we were in the house. a lot of times, it was just the leadership office because we were trying to stop some nonsense, so we would end up in a small room where they were trying to persuade us to go along with their nonsense. but one time we were actually called to the white house by

george bush and we were at the table, we were holding up something that he shouldn't have been trying to pass in the congress. it was president bush and dick cheney and karl rove, and the whole group. mike pence and i were there, and he really went after us. he looked across the table and said, i know some of you are running for the senate, which i was at the time. he just looked at me and they know what that meant. he said the same thing to mike and he threatened -- i don't know what he said, but he said if we didn't go along with it, our political careers were going to be over. i went on to be a senator, mike went on to be a leader in the house and governor of the state. somehow we survived standing our ground. but that is what i remember about mike. [applause] and one other thing. one of the tea party movement set the stage for what has happened this year. when a million people came to washington in 2010, we've got here, gaverty

yourself a hand. [applause] tea party leaders did not ask politicians to speak. there were two dead people of the past to speak from the , one senate and one from the house on 9-12-2010. i got a chance to speak to the group, and i remember when mike pence got up there, he looked out over the whole crowd and said -- the cavalry has arrived. and they have. but what a great friend, what a great hero. i would like to say that the turning point in the trump campaign was when he released our list of supreme court justices or maybe -- [applause] maybe a tax plan that steve moore had worked on or some of our defense stuff, but i think we all know when this campaign turned. it is when donald trump said that mike pence would be his vice president. [applause]

so folks, please welcome governor mike pence and karen pentz to the stage tonight. give them a good heritage welcome. [applause] [cheers] [applause]

mr. pence: thank you so much. [applause] mr. pence: thank you so much for that warm heritage welcome. i am very humbled to be before you today, and my wife and i are so glad to be back. i can say i was for heritage foundation before it was cool. [laughter] thank you for supporting the extraordinary and historic work of the heritage foundation. you have made a difference in america. and we are just getting started. [applause] as i look around this room. i see so many people that i deeply admire. people that have been a mentoring role -- role in my life. and the future second lady in the united states is a particular joy. [applause] and we are just 44 days away

from when donald trump will be inaugurated as the 45th president of the united states of america. [applause] he did it. and it was commonsense conservatives all across the land, just like all of you in this room, that made the difference. but i am here today to pay a debt of gratitude to the heritage foundation. and to express appreciation on behalf of the president-elect for your generosity to this effort that is, even as we speak, continuing to play an extraordinarily important role in the formation of this new government. a government that will take office on january 20, and a president who i know will make america great again. [applause]

i want to thank my friend jim for that wonderful introduction. jim and his wonderful family have been friends for a long time. i so admire jim. we were foot soldiers in the conservative battles, back more than a decade ago on capitol hill. to hear -- to see his role here wrapping up, jim we are so proud and grateful for your strong, conservative stand on the national stage. [applause] jim and i are good enough friends to know that that kind introduction he gave, the one i prefer is a little shorter. i'm a christian, a conservative and a republican, in that order. and it is an honor to be with you today. [applause] i am also so grateful to your asirman tom saunders, the

president and the incomparable ed, who every day is showing up for work at the transition office of the next president of the united states of america. could you give ed fuller a standing ovation? he has made a difference in america and he never quits. [applause] i'm really here to say thank you. thank you so much for your support. of our new president-elect. and for the ongoing support of the heritage foundation. jim and i talk on a regular basis. i am sure all of you who are the patrons of the heritage foundation that this administration has already, is now, and will continue to draw on the extraordinary intellectual resources and

creativity, as other republican administrations have done in the past, of the heritage foundation. we truly do believe that our president-elect has secured a mandate for leadership. and here at heritage foundation, you know something about that. [applause] 30 of 50 states, more counties won since ronald reagan was the candidate in 1984. it was an historic victory. and it was a victory born of ideas. i want to share with you some of the president-elect's priorities, and call for each one of you to draw on the resources of this great organization and continue to support heritage foundation, as we address the challenges our nation faces in economic prosperity and making sure we have the supreme court of the

united that will uphold the constitution of the united states of america. [applause] but in each of these cases, i truly believe what has always inspired me about the heritage foundation, is its underpinning commitment to free enterprise. in a little more plain open -- spoken way, its underpinning and to ensure the vitality of the american dream. it really is what we are about. before i leave the stage tonight, i want to share with you why that is so important to our president-elect and why it is so important. first and foremost, for america to be prosperous and strong, america must be safe. it was ronald reagan who taught us that piece comes through comes throughace

strength. and yet it would be in recent years -- [applause] despite the ongoing admonition of the heritage foundation about its central mission of a commitment to a national defense, the reality is today, this administration and in so many ways, we have walked away from our commitment to be that arsenal of democracy in the world. here are some stats for you. remember, the heritage foundation was actually minted back in the day when ed fuller had dark hair and was just a staff intern. [laughter] it was minted around the mission of national defense. one of my predecessors as conference chairman in the house of representatives would go on to start an outside organization that would promote the principles of national security. statistics, though, are rather jarring. 1991, our active-duty armed

forces have gone from 2 million to 1.2 million today. at the same time, our navy has been reduced from over 500 ships to 272 today. our navy is the smallest it has been since the end of world war i. our standing army, the smallest it has been since the end of the second world war. i promise you, the obama era of weakening our national defenses is over. [applause] president-elect donald trump policies thate have hollowed out our military, i will tell you that my son, i am proud to say is a pilot in the united states marine corps,

said it is a great pride for our family. aircraft in ae of military today is older than my the 25 years old, about change. i will promise you, we will roll our sleeves up in the first 100 days. we will pass military supplemental, rebuild the military, restore the arsenal of our soldiers,e sailors, marines and coast guard the resources and training they need to protect the nation and they will hunt down and destroyed isis at the core, so it can no longer threaten our people. or inspire violence in the homeland. [applause] president-elect is deeply committed to not just those in uniform but those who have served in uniform. plan toout a 10 point

make sure that those who serve in uniform, who have earned the health-care benefits of the va received world-class health care and donald trump as president of the united states will fix the v.a. and ensure that all of those who have served have all the benefits and world-class benefits and health care from day one. [applause] i was just on capitol hill today meeting with leaders in the senate. the president-elect and i have been on capitol hill and i'm going to tell you, right out of the box our president-elect is going to be in the promise-keeping business for working with leaders in the house and senate and we are going to repeal of obamacare lock, stock, and barrel. [applause] the number one priority in this

administration is to keep that promise to the american people. enormous premium increases facing the american people. the heritage foundation did so much to educate the public. 25% average premium increasing facing the united states, and in the state of arizona, 116 increase. the president-elect has directed the leadership in congress to put on his desk with all deliberate speed a bill that repeals obamacare he and we will set into motion a process to replace it with free market reforms that reduce the cost of health care without growing the size of government. [applause] the president-elect is passionate about the opportunity to bring real innovation the state and that is no player -- nowhere more true than health care, and with the appointment of dr. tom price as the new , we will be hhs

advancing reforms and medicaid, working with members of congress to block medicaid back to the states, so states around america can innovate to it health care citizens like health savings account association health plans and drive down the cost of health insurance every american, even while we meet the needs of those that are struggling to make ends meet. [applause] but this session of congress and the focus of the administration ultimately will be about growth. the first 100 days, i was visiting capitol hill the other day and told former colleagues to buckle up. [laughter] the vacation is over. [laughter] .e're going to work we will start by repealing obama care, starting the process of

replacing it with free-market solutions and right out of the box, you are going to see our president-elect get out that 10 and a pio executive order obama signed into law. [applause] as we traveled across this country, we heard more about regulation than we did about taxation and many businesses large and small so we are going to work with members of congress to roll back the avalanche of red tape that is been stifling american jobs and growth and we will be working closely with heritage foundation that has long been talking about regulatory reform. not only to use the congressional review act to undo red tape stifling jobs and growth but working with members of congress on reforms that will permanently reform and reset the balance of the regulatory state and lawmakers in washington, d.c.

[applause] and make no mistake, it is about regulation but also about taxation. in working with leaders in the house and the senate. before we get to the spring i promise you with your help and with the help of our friends in congress, we will cut taxes across the board for working families, small businesses, and family farms. we're going to simplify the tax code and lower business taxes in america from 35% to 15% so companies can compete and create jobs in this country without seeing them shipped overseas. [applause] i have to tell you that the american people, if you saw last week in my home state of indiana, the american people are going to see come january 20, a champion in the oval office for american workers and american jobs.

[applause] some of you may have heard about that because of the initiative of our president-elect i'm happy to say in the state of indiana more than 1000 good-paying jobs are not going south of the border. they are staying right here in the united states of america. [applause] the reason carrier made their decision, i was actually in the room when he called. he called him up and said, i just want you to know we meant every word we said. we're going to cut taxes, make america more competitive for manufacturing and job creation. we are going to roll back regulations, repeal obamacare. and we will have tougher and smarter trade deal so businesses will see the wisdom in creating jobs for the american worker, the american people right here in the united states. [applause]

make no mistake about it, our president-elect and i believe fervently in the free market. you cannot say you are for free markets and stand by while an avalanche of higher taxes, regulations, in big government stifle out the competitive of the american economy. things are about to change in the american economy and that begins on january 20. [applause] and lastly and perhaps most importantly when we think about it, think about the stakes in this election, and so many of you played such a leading role not just us patrons of the heritage foundation but also supporting candidates and supporting our cause in the campaign as well and for that we are grateful. as i traveled around the country , i often reminded people that while we were electing a president to serve a four-year

term, right before he is elected to serve another four-year term, i would often remind people as our president-elect would that the next president would likely have the opportunity to influence the supreme court and its direction for the next 40 years. and the american people responded to that message. in that calling. i want to thank the heritage foundation and other great conservative foundations like the american foundation. it is a list the conservative thought leaders have called a gold mine of conservative jurisprudence and you may rest are sure that our new president-elect will appoint justices to the supreme court of the united states of america in the tradition of the light and late and great -- late and great justice antonin scalia. [applause]

so we have work to do and i am the only one standing between you and dinner. [laughter] so i'm going to get out of your hair. although, i might just single one person out of the room. carly fiorina's right here at the front table. [applause] carly?mind standing up, this is a great, great voice for conservatives for america and conservativism in america. [applause] gov. pence: thanks for your great leadership. so we have work to do. enjoy your dinner. [laughter] and roll your sleeves up.

the president-elect tonight is in north carolina on a thank you tour, but is also making it official that the next secretary of defense will be general james mattis. [applause] but he said last week in cincinnati, he said last week in cincinnati words that i want to remind you of tonight before i leave you with a parting thought. and that is that for all the we did together in this country to elect a president who will make america great again, our work has just begun and i hope you leave here tonight inspired to continue to play a role in the heritage foundation and its historical work in this country and i also hope you leave here today and go back to respective states, and as you see these initiatives, as you see the hand gont-elect's right

into the air and when it comes down, i hope you know it begins. and here is where we do the work. we go back and take all the energy from the campaign to get behind these efforts to rebuild our military, restore our economy, stand up for our constitution, end illegal immigration repeal and replace , obamacare. the work is ahead of us not behind us. i want to challenge you to be ready to do that, but do it in a couple of different ways if you would. you know, i said at the republican national convention that the republican party had nominated a candidate this year who was larger than life. charismatic. unfailingly interesting and memorable. [laughter] so he obviously wanted to balance the ticket. [laughter] [laughter]

gov. pence: and i am humbled to be a small part of it. i truly am. i also want to remind people when we were around the campaign trail, and many ways from the first time we spent time together last summer, i sensed a certain commonality between us. you see, my grandfather immigrated to this country when he was about my son's age. he went through ellis island from ireland. he drove a bus in chicago, illinois, for 30 years. his family immigrated to this country. started the company in raise the business. my dad was a self-made man who built a small gasoline station business with his own two hands in a small town in southern indiana. his dad build a great business and a great family. both of us were raised to believe that to whom much is given, much will be required. and so for him, that meant the kid from queens went to manhattan island. [laughter]

and built the tall buildings. and a national name. for me, it was a calling into public service, believing that this nation had been so good to my family. you know, i often tell people that you know other than a whole lot of zeros, donald trump have -- donald trump and i have a whole lot in common. [laughter] a lot. and that is a believe in the american dream. that is where i started and that is her i wanted to end. because that is what the heritage foundation has always been about for me. advancing, preserving, defending the ideals that are the very foundation of our nation's prosperity. the american dream. i want to promise you for our president-elect and for his vice